--- description: Six crew members on a mock mission to Mars returned to society on Sunday after a year of living in isolation in Hawaii title: Mock Mars Crew Returns After a Year in Isolation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10ecbb7e06a38d5/6988a3e8524fc035b6df94d6/mauna-loa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mock Mars Crew Returns After a Year in Isolation by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Aug 28, 2016 8:41 PM CUT  Black lava mountains near the coast and highway Chain of Crater Road on Big Island, Hawaii. Black lava mountains near the coast and highway Chain of Crater Road on Big Island, Hawaii.Sergi Reboredo—picture-alliance/dpa/AP by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Aug 28, 2016 8:41 PM CUT Six crew members on a mock mission to Mars returned to society on Sunday after a year of living in isolation in Hawaii. The crew members were housed in an empty habitation on the slopes of Mauna Loa as part of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program, which seeks to help scientists understand the affect of isolation on humans as they explore deep space. The crew left the habitat around 3 p.m. E.T. Sunday after living together for a year with limited contact with the outside world, [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/week-pictures-august-19-26-n638491 "undefined") reported. Applications are open for the [next round of participants](http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2016/08/10/hi-seas-recruiting-for-mars-simulation-missions/ "undefined") interested in the isolation missions. HI-SEAS will send teams to the mock habitat in 2017 and 2018 for eight months at a time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4470000/mock-mars-crew-returns-isolation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4470000/mock-mars-crew-returns-isolation/"},"headline":"Mock Mars Crew Returns After a Year in Isolation","datePublished":"2016-08-28T20:41:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:14:36.579Z","description":"They lived on a remote habitat in Hawaii","url":"https://time.com/4470000/mock-mars-crew-returns-isolation/","keywords":["Space","Mars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10ecbb7e06a38d5/6988a3e8524fc035b6df94d6/mauna-loa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10ecbb7e06a38d5/6988a3e8524fc035b6df94d6/mauna-loa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HAWAII","caption":"Black lava mountains near the coast and highway Chain of Crater Road. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Big Island. Hawaii. Lava fields and the pacific ocean with a fish eye lens, Volcano National Park. Recent lava flow, pahoehoe type lava. Hawai?i Volcan","creditText":"Sergi Reboredo—picture-alliance/dpa/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4470000/mock-mars-crew-returns-isolation/","name":"Mock Mars Crew Returns After a Year in Isolation"}}]}] ```